The Truth of Hisana Kuchiki
by Lady Kagewaki
Summary: Byakuya Kuchiki was a noble heir. Hisana was a commoner from one of the poorest districts of Rukongai. Regardless of their disparate backgrounds they came together under the banner of love before her tragic death from illness…but is 'illness' the truth?


Sumire was new to the House of Kuchiki

Sumire was new to the House of Kuchiki. She was recently brought on as a servant to help maintain the western wing. Sumire had a good background, was easy on the eye, and did her job well. The western wing had been the lord Byakuya's late mother's quarters. One afternoon she was asked to clean out the late lady's study. It had obviously not been touched in sometime. She dusted off the layer of grey dust and allowed the wood of the old low lying desk to shine.

She wanted to clean off the delicate bamboo lattice work on the front of some of the small cabinets, but had to open them to clean them on the inside as well. She slid them open and gasped when she saw the piles of papers behind them.

She began to remove them and carefully placed them on the tatami floor. She saw some of the documents were letters from the previous lord. When Sumire was finished with removing the dust bunnies from the lattice work she began to put back the old documents. Her imagination got the better of her and she failed to resist the temptation of reading one of them. 'I wonder were they a romantic couple? Did he send her love letters?'

She looked around and heard nor saw anyone. She opened up one of the letters with a bright anticipatory smile. As her eyes scanned the page her brow furrowed and her smile faded. This was no love letter, but one of conspiracy and maybe even murder.

Sumire heard some other servants down the hall headed her way. She collected two handfuls of the letters and successfully hid them in her obi. She had just slid the cabinet closed when the others entered laughing over what one of the house boys had done when he saw a mouse in the store house.

"Sumire" called out the older one "It's supper time. Rina has made a fabulous smelling stew!"

"I think I'll pass this evening, thanks" she replied wanting nothing more than to read the letters.

"Are you feeling okay? Are you sure?" asked the other woman.

"Yes, thank you, but I think some rest in order. I'll be going to my room, thank you, and excuse me."

Sumire then got up, trying not to allow the letters to make noise and returned to her room. She unfurled her tiny futon and put the bar in her sliding door to lock it. She immediately pulled out the letters and put them in date order. Her hands shook with emotion at what she had found and she couldn't help but visualize it in her mind. "Poor Lord Byakuya, how tragic…" she whispered.

She could see it all in her minds eye. 'Dear lord Kuchiki, Your son has undoubtedly done what we had feared. It is no rumor, but a reality. He is enraptured by a commoner…' Sumire then read how his mother's spies had found out.

Before Kuchiki was a captain, he like many others, was required to patrol various areas of Rukongai. He strolled down the street keeping his eyes open for trouble in the alley ways. There was a scuffle in a particular space between two shops and he went over to investigate. When he arrived he saw three grown men ganging up on a young woman.

He scared them away with little effort and without drawing his sword. The woman had her arm up in a defensive position, and when her attackers left she slowly lowered it, almost afraid of looking at her rescuer. Byakuya was about to leave, but was struck by the girl's beauty and the sadness in her eyes. 'How could there be such beauty in such an ugly place?'

Her skin was as fair as a dove's wing and her hair as black as a raven. Her exquisite eyes had the thickest lashes he had ever seen which protected her deep violet eyes.

He extended a hand to help her stand and she accepted. She dusted herself off, wearing what he could only identify as a potato sack and rope belt. 'Regardless of her work her hands are so soft and delicate.' She bowed and said thank you. "It was no chore to help a lady such as yourself." He noted what natural grace and poise the girl had. "What is your name?

"Nothing worthy of your ears, kind sir. I was not worth saving" she said, her voice a soft bell.

"I believe that is up for me to decide" he said.

She looked up, her eyes filling with tears again "I have abandoned my sister…I…I…" she fell to her knees weeping into her hands from guilt.

He crouched down next to her. "Your name…and hers."

She looked up from her two cupped hands "Hisana"

Sumire gripped the account to her chest. Her cheeks turning pink at the thought of how her dashing lord must have been. She saw the sun was getting low and pulled out a brand new candle and lit it. She began to read the report again.

Hisana then explained to Byakuya "I left her near a doorway with a note baring her name. She is Rukia. Who knows if the family I left her near will call her that also." Hisana hung her head sobbing "I couldn't…I couldn't care for her. I…" she couldn't stop her crying. "I went back to the same shack, but they had abandoned it. I have no idea if she is with them or not."

Byakuya walked her to her shack and bade her good evening and good luck with her search. "If I hear anything I will let you know." She bowed as he walked away. Byakuya had been struck and touched by Hisana's story and returned again and again to check on her. Soon he was professing his love and undying devotion.

His mother and father were not happy. "Byakuya, you cannot be serious!" said his mother.

He knew it would be like this, but pressed anyway to have the girl brought to the estate. His father simply said "She cannot be your wife, Byakuya-kun. She does not only lack the blood and spirit power, but also the training. Your mother's duties are not only walking around looking beautiful all day"

"Thank you dearest" she said to her husband.

"Of course" said the current Lord Kuchiki. Husband and wife touched hands between their large throne and their eyes still held a sparkle when they looked at each other even after so many years. They then broke their contact and got back to business.

The current head of the Kuchiki clan looked down at his son and continued "But she also lacks experience in the running of a household of this size and maintaining this family's proud history and lineage."

"Hisana can learn" said Byakuya desperately trying to compromise with his parents. His mother, who he inherited his eyes form, looked at him with a quiet anger. She touched her husbands hand again to stop him from speaking. Byakuya had never seen his mother so livid and had barely heard his fathers' words.

She calmly said "Are you telling me that what I spent a lifetime learning and perfecting is so simple that a mere common girl could easily learn?"

"Mother, that is not—"

"Byakuya I don't know if I should scold you or cry!" she said.

"Look what you have done, boy! Look! You're mother is overwrought concerning this! This girl is nothing but a curse on our line!"

Byakuya's anger and pain boiled, and he invited Hisana none the less.

She stayed a month on her first visit and Byakuya was sure to keep her away from his parents. On the large estate it was not a difficult task.

Another month passed and he visited her in her humble home as often as he could.

He then implored her to abandon the shack and live with him.

They sat around her small brazier with simple cups of watery green tea. Her eyes filled with tears and she asked him to leave.

He couldn't understand it. "But why? Are you coming with me?" he asked, baffled.

"I cannot in good conscience abandon my quest to find my sister. Secondly, I will not do so to be a man's mistress. This is one of the few lessons my mother taught me." She bowed her head to the ground "But please do not think ill of me. I am not worthy to be even that much to you, milord. I must kindly ask you to leave and never return. It hurts too much to know I can never truly be yours." With quiet dignity she stood up and waited near the door. Her hands were clasped and her head hung low.

Byakuya was floored. 'How could she turn me down?' He stood, unsure of what to say. He tried to say something as he passed her, but then realized there was nothing he could say. He had actually offended her with his request. He knew then what he had to do. He walked out and back to the Seireitei.

Hisana stood outside the shabby entrance to her home and bowed until he was out of sight.

Sumire put down the spy's account and sighed. "Oh Lord Byakuya! How different you were back then.,.." She picked up the next letter.

Apparently his mother had traveled to the far end of Soul Society to a country home they had there. Byakuya's father told his wife that Byakuya had been moping around the garden looking like "a pathetic weeping willow." Sumire could barely imagine the striking Byakuya ever looking pathetic.

They heard that he had been rejected by the commoner and now he was depressed. His mother was quick to suggest bringing in a few young, but eligible ladies to choose from for marriage.

Upon her return from the country side a few months later the Lady Kuchiki found her son in high spirits and to her dismay already married. "Whaaaaat!?" she blurted. She tried to summon the famous Kuchiki composure, but it was hard. Byakuya's mother was fanned by the three young women who she had invited with her back to the Kuchiki estate. "He married the common girl!?" she asked her husband in disbelief.

"…Yes…" replied the old man.

She could not believe this happened "How could you allow this?" she asked trying to hold back tears. She sunk to the ground and a servant was sure to slip a pillow underneath her before she touched the floor. "How could he do this? Does he not understand the consequences?" she cried and her lord husband sighed. She dismissed the young visiting ladies and the servants. She sat fanning herself on the pillow.

"I'd hoped it wouldn't come to this." said her husband.

Byakuya's mother calmed and sadly agreed. "Yes, sad indeed. Promise me something, sire."

"Yes, milady?"

"Byakuya will not know about this."

"This will be difficult."

"Please sire. He is my son after all. I hate what he is doing, but I do love him and am pained when he is pained. Please make sure it is done quietly, without him knowing."

"It will take time, then."

"I know. As long as it is before they have an heir…"

"Yes. That is most important."

"Sire?"

"Yes. I will do what I can."

He turned away from his wife and said "it will have to be poisoning. This will be gradual, undetected and lethal. Perhaps there is a way of preventing a pregnancy as well."

Byakuya's mother nodded solemnly and it was done.

Sumire looked over the next few pages. They were dated one year later. They were notes from a chemist and dieticians about gradual poisoning. The documentation was all there. Byakuya's parents had murdered Hiisana.

One evening Byakuya had dinner with his father while his mother showed Hisana around her favorite garden. Byakuya said "I have to admit father I was worried."

"About what, my son?"

"About you and mother accepting Hisana. Legally it is all worked out and I knew I could get the temple priest to do the ceremony, but I wanted your blessings most of all."

The father sighed and said "Well, we were, but what can we do now, eh? You're a married man, old enough, mature enough to make your own decisions. I wish you would have made a different one but…"

Byakuya waited for his father to finish his sentence, but he did not. His father continued. "There's no changing what's done and we must not be rude to our guest. However this does bring up a point which I have been meaning to discuss with you for some time."

"Oh?"

"Yes. It is about your cousin, Tonou. "

"What about her?" he asked then placed some fluffy white rice in his mouth.

"She is engaged to be married."

Byakuya chewed slowly digesting his thoughts. "Who?" he asked after swallowing.

"Shihouin, Dakura."

Byakuya froze only for a moment, but long enough for his father to know his son understood his predicament.

"Byakuya, if and when Tonou should conceive an heir, you will lose your throne for sure."

"Dakura is weak. It will never happen."

"A mans prowess on the battlefield is quite separate from that of the bedroom. Even if you have an heir, it will never be accepted. Hisana, though a lovely and charming young lady, is common. She will never be accepted as a true lady of this house."

Byakuya lost his appetite. Hisana and Byakuya's mother entered the room from outside. "Gentleman, Hisana-chan was telling me the most charming story of a rabbit who lived near her home."

Byakuya's father interrupted. "That's charming dear. We were discussing something quite serious."

The lady of the house headed for the door without question. Hisana hesitated, trying to get Byakuya to look at her. He would not. When the ladies were safely out of ear shot Byakuya said "I will duel him. There is no competition. I will destroy him."

"And what little you have left of a reputation! Byakuya, marrying Hisana you have given up your throne, you know that. Any action you take will be tightly scrutinized. You will only appear greedy and grasping."

"This is all such foolishness."

"You are the foolish one, Byakuya!"

The noble son knew his father was right, but he could not ignore his heart. He knew Hisana would be a fine lady and that she would bring compassion and warmth back into the Kuchiki house. "We will see."

"I guess so" said the father calming a bit.

Byakuya wanted to change the subject, but couldn't stop thinking of his love. "Mother seems to like her. I am glad."

"Mm."

--  
Two years passed and Hisana learned a great deal. Later one evening Byakuya was heading towards Hisana's suite when a servant went out of her room and ran down the hall "The doctor! The doctor! Please someone get the doctor!"

Hisana had been feeling tired, but the royal physicians told Byakuya they could find nothing wrong. She had shown signs of fatigue, and general poor health and Byakuya's mother was convinced it had to do with where Hisana had lived previously. "The water is simply not clean there. She probably caught some awful disease. Those commoners are a cesspool of disease" she had said.

Sumire looked back at the chemists reports and knew something bad was happening to Hisana, but it wasn't because of Rukingai's water.

Presently, Byakuya stood back and watched the doctors work on his beloved wife. She was unconscious and he was worried. 'What mysterious illness has taken hold of her?' Byakuya was asked to leave and he went into the hall behind the decorated shoji. The doctor emerged and Byakuya approached. Him. "Hisana…?" The doctor merely shook his head. "Hisana!"

The doctor said "I don't see anything wrong with her. I have given her some pain killers, in a tea, but I'm afraid these are the beginning stages of wasting sickness."

The old doctor bowed his head in deference and said I'm sorry your highness, but there is nothing left to do but wait. As you know, wasting disease is a mysterious illness here in Soul Society and there is no known cure or real effective treatment."

Byakuya pushed past the doctor and into Hisana's room. She was sitting up straight, a bit too pale, but otherwise in good spirits. "I'm sorry sire, to worry you. It seems I took a spill out there and caused a great deal of fuss." She looked away unable to lie to his face.

"Hisana…the doctor told me—"

"Byakuya-sama, please do not say it. If you say it, I cannot deny it and the dream I am living in here will shatter."

Byakuya nodded then took a seat by her side.

Over the next few years Hisana continued to search for Rukia in the slums where she had left her. She used palace resources which were at her disposal, but one could not find anything more than rumor. The locals in Rukongai were reluctant to share secrets with nobles or their servants.

Hisana was continually frustrated. Her body weakened and it became painfully clear that she would never bare Byakuya's child.

Byakuya's mother took another trip to the countryside because her own health was giving her trouble. She wrote her husband a letter inquiring about her son and about the health of their daughter-in-law.

Sumire's candle burned low and she gasped at what she read:

"_Dearest, _

_Of course, as always, I miss you, and wish to be at your side as soon as possible. Please send word of our dear Byakuya-kun when you can. I am his mother and as always want to know what my son is up to. _

_Also, just a few reminders. Please make sure the houseman checks and double checks the rice levels in the storehouse. I think one of the new maids is diddling with one of the southern gate guards and that there is some fishy business surrounding our rice. I have orders and a system in place, please make sure to remind the houseman to do his duty. _

_Thirdly, something has been weighing on my mind. It seems it is taking longer than the chemists projected. I care not for the girl, but Byakuya is most likely suffering over this drawn out loss. Please end this asap._

_Lastly please have the gardeners check the koi ponds. The eastern pond in particular had some fatalities last season. We don't need dead fish popping up, scaring the visitors should you have any while I am away. _

_The doctor says a few more weeks in the air here and I should be good to return…"_

Sumire couldn't believe what she was reading 'Feed the fish, kill our daughter in law, and check the rice?! Nobles…I'll never understand.'

Byakuya's father did reply explaining it would be suspicious at this point, especially with Dakura bidding for head of the family to have Hisana suddenly die. Her health was not good, but it was not bad enough for death. In addition to politics, if she were found to have elevated levels of the chemical it would be easy to trace.

"Just like your letters and spy accounts, moron!" whispered Sumire. She continued the letter…

"_If we continued with this dosage, no one will know. It will enter, destroy, and exit, just as the chemist said. No trace. Be patient my dearest. No reason to rush. Byakuya will have to mourn even if it is for a commoner. He will not be able to marry right away anyhow. He will remarry after the mourning period, and one of your choosing. I doubt it will matter to him then." _

Sumire was in tears. Byakuya never did remarry. His heart was forever taken by Hisana. The next letters were nothing special, except showing the passage of time. Then one letter, from Byakuya to his parents caught her eye.

Apparently something tragic and unexpected happened to Dakura; he had died at a gentleman's club and was found with a note pined to his body with a katana. The note was in support of Byakuya taking the head of the Kuchiki house and against combining the houses. Byakuya wrote to assure his parents he had not killed anyone.

His father responded with a question of who ordered it.

Sumire did no find a response to the question. The letter was solemn.

Byukuya's mother had died. Her stays in the country may have helped her breathing but the chest pains could not be cured by anything at their disposal.

She died in her sleep of heart failure. She was old, and it was no great shock. Byakuya once overhead his mother's heart had never been the same after his birth. She was a strong willed woman, but his birth was especially difficult. His father was saddened and her funeral was dignified. Byakuya was upset, but was relieved that Hisana was well enough to attend.

Others at the funeral spoke of Hisana's beauty, but then comments were often followed with 'But what a shame…"

This could be taken a few different ways: It was a shame she was going to die; It was a shame she could not have heirs; it was a shame she was not noble. Whatever it meant it did not matter to Byakuya. He saw now how his father had grown old and how deeply his love for Hisana had shamed his dearest family.

He thought they had accepted Hisana, with their kind words and could not have noticed that they were slowly killing his closest and most beloved one. He felt he owed it to his parents who had been kind to Hisana and had not contested their union. Also, after the Dakura incident, he knew he had tarnished the Kuchiki name.

He began to feel in his heart he had never to do anything, especially out of selfish passions, which would shame his family again. Another year passed in which his father had died and then another year after that. Soon Hisana was confined to her bed. She could barely eat anything without getting sick. She knew what was coming and so did Sumire.

The candle extinguished itself just as the light form the rising sun peeped through her shutters. She couldn't read anymore. 'What will I do with these? Should I tell Byakuya-sama? No…I should return them to where I found them. But…' "No one should know any of this. I'll burn them…"

Sumire began to fold up the documents thinking 'Poor Byakuya-sama. The truth would only do more damage than good. What's the point of telling him that his parents who cared for him had killed his true love? Nothing but pain.'

She gathered the documents together and looked at the thick pile of letters with their broken seals and crinkled old paper. She felt she could not destroy the truth. 'Regardless of what I do with these documents, I will always know the truth. Sumire changed and washed to prepare for the day. She would continue to clean the same suite of rooms and returned the letters to the cupboard, leaving the truth of Byakuya's and Hisana's story to anyone else who may find it.


End file.
